Millions of Trekkies out there are going to be bitterly disappointed to learn that the Prime Directive is no longer in effect:
Seeking to mobilize a global front against anti-gay violence and discrimination, Vice President Joe Biden declared Tuesday that protecting gay rights is a defining mark of a civilized nation and must trump national cultures and social traditions.
Attorney General Eric Holder swooped into Spokane, Washington, without public notice Friday to visit with federal prosecutors, but his trip didn’t immediately benefit a group of indicted medical marijuana patients nicknamed the Kettle Falls Five.
A day late, but happy 70th anniversary for the GI Bill:
Let's start the week with a soft, non-controversial suggestion. News organizations grant women who say they were raped anonymity because being a rape victim is so shameful the woman's life would be ruined forever if her name were known. So, if the crime is that bad, why don't we withhold the name of the accused until it's dtermined whether he's actually guilty or not?
My brother and his gun-advocate friends are freaking out over the Supreme Court's "straw" purchase decision:
My apologies for what will be sporadic posting over the next few days. We're going live with a new front-end system this week, and that's taking up most of our time. As long as you're here, check out this paranoid excursion into outer space: "Bid to talk to aliens could doom us all: How the quest to find ET could be insanely risky":
I enjoy listening to Terry Gross' interviews on NPR's "Fresh Air," especially her talks with authors. Yes, there's a little liberal bias now and again, but not enough to spoil the appreciation of her interviewing skills. She usually reads not only the book in question but also anything else of the author's she can get her hands on, and she has a way of zeroing in on th most important things the person has to so.
Good Lord, something new we have to worry about -- not turning our dogs into welfare-dependent members of the permanent canine underclass:
I think this is about right -- we have to keep fighting the war on terror, but here, not overseas:
If Eric Cantor's defeat was front-page stunning, here's a little inside-page shocker:
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that teacher tenure laws deprive students of their constitutional right to an education, a decision that hands teachers’ unions a major defeat in a landmark case that overturns several California laws that govern the way teachers are hired and fired.
We needed Gallup to tell us this?
The longer that Americans are unemployed, the more likely they are to report signs of poor psychological well-being. About one in five Americans who have been unemployed for a year or more say they currently have or are being treated for depression -- almost double the rate among those who have been unemployed for five weeks or less.
While we're not paying attention, artificial intelligence will creep right up on us:
Hillary Clinton to Diane Sawyer of ABC:
Well, if you -- you have no reason to remember, but we came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt. We had no money when we got there and we struggled to, you know, piece together the resources for mortgages for houses, for Chelsea's education, you know, it was not easy.
Aww, poor babies.
Dear lady in front of me at the grocery store: No one writes checks anymore.
The usage of checks as a payment system has plummeted in the U.S. in recent years. In 2000, checks were used in more than 40 billion transactions, according to a recent report from the Federal Reserve’s Cash Products Office. That number is down to less than 20 billion, according to the Fed’s most recent numbers, which are based on a survey conducted in October 2012.
The "leave no man behind" defense of that swap:
Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal on Wednesday urged Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s critics not to “judge” him until all the facts are in and sharply defended the extensive and risky search efforts that claimed the lives of some of his fellow soldiers.
These poll results are dismaying but shouldn't really be surprising:
A majority of voters say the Obama administration is less competent than Bill Clinton’s and a plurality say it is less competent than George W. Bush’s according to a new Fox News poll released Wednesday.
Today's "well, duh" report from the Institute for the Obvious:
